Homegrown Pie

Where there's fresh fruit, there's pie—and there are restaurants that serve up slices of standout pie baked with ripe produce grown, often literally, in their own backyards.

DUARTE'S TAVERN Pescadero, Calif. The pie at this 19th-century roadhouse is world famous, and the olallieberry version takes the cake. Resembling elongated blackberries, the tart olallieberries grown in Pescadero and nearby Watsonville are gently enfolded in an ultraflaky crust. (650) 879-0464.

THE EATERY RESTAURANT Skagit River Resort, near Rockport, Wash. Nonagenarian Tootsie Clark bakes her rhubarb pie with fresh stalks picked from the restaurant's garden and simmered with sugar for a nubby, deep pink filling. (800) 273-2606.

IKEDA'S Auburn, Calif. Join the crowd at this popular pit stop for Tahoe-bound travelers and order a slice of peach pie à la mode. The juicy stone fruit are grown in Ikeda's orchard just down the road. (530) 885-4243.

THE LOGS RESTAURANT B Z Corner, Wash. You'll find luscious huckleberry pie at this 1927 log cabin located in what owner Ramona Halverson calls "the middle of the road to nowhere." The wild huckleberries that end up in her pies are handpicked in the surrounding Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (509) 493-1402.

MOM'S APPLE PIE Sebastopol, Calif. This area is noted for its Gravenstein apples, and Betty "Mom" Carr bakes her signature pie to cinnamon perfection using rosy-skinned fruit grown in the eight-acre orchard in the restaurant's backyard. (707) 823-8330.

OTIS CAFE Otis, Ore. Expect a line out the screen door at this tiny roadside diner as locals and tourists jostle for a seat and a slice of warm pie made with Oregon-grown marionberries and topped with Tillamook ice cream. (541) 994-2813.

Illustration by Joseph Gast

This article was first published in September 2005. Some facts may have aged gracelessly. Please call ahead to verify information.